Zafar Hijazi SECP chairman arrested for tampering

SECP chairman Zafar Hijazi arrested for tampering with record of Sharifs’ companies.Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday arrested Security & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman Zafar Hijazi from outside a special court in Islamabad after his bail application was rejected.

The SECP chairman faces charges of tampering with records of Sharif family’s companies. The joint investigation team (JIT) – probing into Sharif family’s offshore assets in line with the apex court’s April 20 verdict in Panamagae case – had earlier alleged that the SECP tampered with records of the sugar mills.FIA finds SECP chief guilty of tampering with record of Sharifs’ companies
On June 19, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court – headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan – had directed the FIA director general to launch an inquiry into the allegations by the six-member inquiry panel that the SECP had tampered with the records of the Sharifs’ companies. Subsequently, the top court had constituted a four-member FIA team to probe into the allegations.
The investigation agency later found Hijazi guilty of tampering records of the companies owned by the Sharif family, and recommended registration of an FIR against him. Subsequently a criminal case was registered against the SECP head at FIA’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in Islamabad, under Sections 466 and 471 of PPC read with 5(2)47, the Prevention of Corruption Act. Under these sections, the accused may face a jail term of up to seven years.
The FIA further endorsed allegations levelled by head of JIT Wajid Zia and advised the interior ministry to put his name on the Exit Control List (ECL). The agency also recommended filing an FIR against Hijazi in its report which was submitted before the apex court.
SC orders FIA to probe tampering allegations against SECP.After registration of the FIR, Hijazi had approached Islamabad High Court to seek a pre-arrest bail and succeeded in obtaining a transitory bail till July 17 against surety bonds of Rs10,000. He was later granted an interim pre-arrest bail until July 21 by Special Court Central, Islamabad.